To wander into 85 Degrees C Bakery Cafe is to find yourself tumbling down a rabbit hole filled with tasty desserts and nifty (if somewhat eccentric) beverages. A certain amount of mental preparation is required. Probably a little physical prep wouldn’t hurt either — these desserts can strain our low-carb diets a whole bunch. Probably the best drill is to go and observe, walk around, look and sniff, see what others are eating and drinking, for the selection is downright encyclopedic. Sweetly so.

The first 85 Degrees C Bakery Cafe opened in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2004. A decade later, there are 400 branches stretching across Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Australia and the U.S. In the South Bay, 85 Degrees C (named for the temperature at which, they say, coffee best holds its flavor) is found in one of my favorite shopping malls — a space in Gardena on Artesia Boulevard near the 110 Freeway that’s home to a 99 Ranch Market, the Peruvian restaurant El Rocoto and the Japanese equivalent of a 99 Cents Only store called Daiso.

What you’ll find is that there are two lines for drinks. You want hot coffee, there’s the house blend, along with Starbucks-like creations ranging from Americano and Cappuccino, to Caramel Latte and Hazelnut Latte, to White Mocha and Chai Latte. There’s a parallel world of iced drinks that includes an Iced Sea Salt Coffee that’s exactly what it sounds like; the jury is out on whether sea salt (which is so good with chocolate) is good with coffee. Let’s say it’s interesting.

The teas are even more complex and ornate. Despite the fact that the name of the chain refers to coffee, most of the customers seem to be going for the dessert teas so popular at boba shops. There’s green tea, black tea, milk tea, jelly tea and many variations therein. There are coffee jelly teas, which mix two worlds together. There are more sea salt creations; they taste better with green tea than with coffee.

The teas come hot and iced. They also come flavored with lemon, passion fruit, peach, grapefruit, grape and kumquat. Then, there’s the world of smoothies, which are all over the map, from Frozen Cappuccino and Cookies & Cream to mango-passion fruit, strawberry-banana, honeydew, red bean and the powdered green tea called matcha. Taro, too — poi flavored smoothies?

And we haven’t even gotten up to the cakes and rolls, which make ordering that much more complex.

There’s lots to look at in the cases, all of which look amazing, though the Chinese taste for sugar is a bit lighter than the American (or European) taste, which is crazy extreme.

The Black Forest Cake, a house signature, is a lot more understated than expected; it’s almost subtle, though certainly not sugar free. The strawberry mousse in the Strawberry Cream Cake doesn’t taste nearly as sugary as the French version would; it’s almost an exercise in texture more than sweetness. The tiramisu needs more coffee flavor, and more mascarpone cheese as well — though it sure is pretty.

You get the cakes at the same counter as the drinks. But the bakery is self-service, where you take a tray and tongs and pile the baked goods on, helped by various bakery assistants whose job, I suspect, is to make sure you don’t taste things and then put them back. There are cases and cases of baked goods including thick, somewhat spongy bread referred to as “toast” (even though it’s not toasted).

Other breads are divided into “European Style,” “Japanese Style” and “Taiwanese Style.” “European” includes a French cheese bread (oddly, the cheese is cheddar), and a hot dog and cheese bread (cheddar and mozzarella). “Japanese” includes a long, thin whole-wheat mushroom bread and a coffee-flavored bread. There’s a pork sung (minced pork) bread under “Taiwanese.” There’s a “Danish” section as well — one of which is made with cheddar and tomatoes.

85 Degrees feels like a journey into an alternative universe, where the drinks and the pastries may, or may not, make you happy. But you’ll sure have fun.

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